


In the Crossroads

by butterflycollective



Category: Matt Houston (TV)
Genre: F/M, Passion, Past Relationship(s), Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-09
Updated: 2013-07-08
Packaged: 2017-12-18 04:45:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/875768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/butterflycollective/pseuds/butterflycollective
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Matt and Will are enjoying their last days of freedom before joining the army while C.J. and Julia are heading to Boston. What happens when their paths cross? Just borrowing Spelling's characters for fun.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Reminiscing.

The convertible roared across the highway, with a canopy of grassy fields and clusters of trees blowing on by.

The two women had left Houston a few days ago to head on Boston and Harvard School of Law where they'd be setting up in an apartment and preparing to start their first year of classes. C.J. brushed the hair blowing against her face futilely as it turned out while her friend Julia did the driving for this stretch of road. They'd been traveling across the wide expanse inside their home state, driving most of the day and either camping outdoors or holing up in motels overnight. They both decided they needed the road trip after the frantic activities of their final semester at the University of Texas which bled into three months spent by C.J. working on her uncle's ranch and clerking at a local law firm. Julia had spent the summer in the Caribbean staying at her parents' cottage and working on her suntan.

Matt had already graduated from Rice University and eschewed a career in professional football to enlist in the military with his cousin Will. They had been in basic officers' training for the past several months in North Carolina. Hours spent cramming an education sandwiched between hours of physical training and testing designed to push forward the limits of their endurance and strength. At times, he had told her in emails that his will had been greatly tested but that he had no intention of breaking from the strain. Will had been even more determined than his cousin and had scored at the top of his group. After they both finished in a few days, they'd receive their assignments, most likely somewhere in the Middle East, where the wars were being waged.

Julia and she planned to meet up with the guys before they left to say goodbye and to make sure they returned from their tours of duty the way they left. After all, quite a few young men and women had already returned to American soil in coffins unloaded off of airplanes way from public eyes.

That wouldn't happen to Matt or Will, C.J. knew that. Whatever happened to them or whatever they faced, they would come home when they were finished.

"So are you going to call him?"

C.J. looked over at Julia who had been sensible to wear a scarf over her blond hair to keep it from flying.

"Who…?"

Julia's mouth curved into a smile.

"Robert…you know he's going to be gone for a year in Guatemala filing that documentary."

C.J. shrugged and just looked at the scenery again.

"I told him I couldn't do it anymore," she said, "Couldn't bail him out of trouble. Houston just wanted to leave him in that Amarillo jail."

Julia looked over at her as they reached the turnpike which would lead them hopefully to some tasty barbecue and a comfy motel room for the night. The sun had began to set behind them, painting the sky in various hues of pink and yellow roses.

"But he did and Robert promised to reform," Julia said, "Maybe he will…maybe this trip will make him grow up."

C.J. remembered the last phone call they shared that had dissolved into an argument where she had just hung up on him.

"I don't think so…besides he's going to get himself in trouble in South America with no one to help him."

Julia looked over at her.

"You sure about that?"

"Damn straight…he's played me for a fool one too many times. I'm not going to help him. "

She didn't want to be reminded about that he might get himself into deep trouble again with no one to rescue him this time. She just wanted to focus on the here and now and on the long stretches of highway ahead of them, putting more miles between her and the city they had left behind. The final weeks of summer were dwindling down and soon would be measured by days. Days spent adjusting to her new life in Boston attending the most prestigious law school in the United States.

Julia just shook her head.

"That's what you say but what about next time?"

C.J. just shot her a look back.

"There won't be a next time," she said, "You know that guy Carl was right. Any attempts to help him will just make it worse."

"Smart guy…shame you couldn't be chasing after him instead."

C.J. felt irritation fill her at Julia's words. Chasing who? Robert had always been on whatever phone he could find calling collect to be bailed out of trouble once again.

"Carl's a great guy…he's just not…"

Julia sighed.

"I know he's too nice and you don't go for nice guys."

C.J. didn't like the sound of that because that didn't describe her at all. She liked Carl just fine, he had been the perfect study partner although after his graduation he had headed off to Stanford to get his MBA. Besides he'd had his eye on her friend and sorority sister, Maureen Flanders who'd also headed off to Stanford to get her law degree.

"I…."

Julia's eyes sparkled as she pulled into the parking lot of the motel.

"What…of course you don't go for them…else you'd be all over Matt instead of just being his best friend."

C.J.'s mouth hung open at her friend's words as they parked the car.

Matt unzipped his duffel inside the small bungalow to search for his worn football tee-shirt with Rice University on the front of it. He'd just gotten out of the shower rinsing off all the grime from a full day spend behind the wheel, another leg of the journey that he and his cousin Will were taking to the army base where they would be deployed to their military assignments. They had both survived officer basic training and were spending a few days blowing off steam before committing the next two years of their lives to Uncle Sam.

They'd hit a couple of bars and clubs on their road trip but Matt wanted nothing more than to savor his last few days of freedom. Will had talked about renting a couple of bungalows by a lake and spending their time fishing and eating what they caught while washing it down with plenty of beer.

His cousin's girlfriend would be dropping by during the last couple of days which would keep Will quite busy. But Matt didn't begrudge his cousin his happiness, not when neither of them knew what lay ahead knowing that a war awaited them when they got shipped out. He'd gotten serious with one of the varsity cheerleaders, Christina who had decided to skip graduation and accept a modeling contract that would take her to locales like Paris and Milan.

"Hey Houston…"

Matt looked up at his cousin who stood in the doorway. He hadn't even heard him come in his bungalow.

"You ready to go fishing?"

Matt nodded.

"I'm ready to catch a bunch of them too," he said, "When's she arriving?"

Will stretched his arms.

"Tomorrow sometime…with a friend," he said, "You'll like her. We just hooked up a few months ago."

Matt thought back and well, he'd been busy adding baseball to his resume of sports though he played that sport mostly for fun. It hadn't been serious business like varsity football where he'd been a starting quarterback who led his team to many victories including the Cotton Bowl earlier this year.

Months later, he'd graduated with a degree in business having eschewed a half a dozen offers to play professionally even on his beloved Houston Oilers.

"You sure it's over between you and Christina?"

Matt sighed, remembering back to the day they'd said goodbye before she'd packed her bags and headed off to the airport to take a flight to New York City. He'd cared deeply for her but they'd decided to go their separate ways.

"Been over for six months," he said, "For the best…long distance style relationships just don't work."

Will chuckled.

"So get a short term girlfriend instead," he said, "You still got a couple of days to live it up."

Matt just looked at him.

"Nah I don't want any misunderstandings," he said, "It's better that way if we're going to go and fight a war."

Will just shook his head.

"That's good for you but I'm going to have my fun and Julia's more than up for it."

Matt watched his cousin sit down on a chair near the door, dressed more casually than either of them would be in a few days when they reached the base where they would soon be deployed into action. The fact that he'd be spending the next two years in the military didn't bother him, he had made his choice to do it. Mostly because Will had been restless during his stint at Texas A&M University until he had gotten involved in the military program there. Then it had been all that he could or would talk about…why Matt's main topics of interest had been sports, his cousin had talked a lot through phone calls and emails about all the military actions overseas far, far away from Texas.

September 11, 2001 had changed everything and Matt had been in his last year at the university. He's been running scrimmage on the field at an early morning football practice before his classes when the coach told them what had happened. The shock that reverberated through him as he and the other players wandered off the field into the locker rooms made him feel ice cold but as he gathered with other students in a recreational room glued to the television for hours, the words that Uncle Roy had told him returned.

At the Fourth of July barbecue, his father's only brother had mentioned in conversation rising tensions among terrorist movements around the world. His uncle had warned him and Will to be careful, to pay attention what would happen in the months ahead and Matt knew it was no idle warning. His uncle had decades of experience as some type of covert operative working assignments for a shadowy agency that officially didn't exist. Matt didn't know much of what his uncle did for a living but he gleaned enough over the years to realize it had a lot to do with ensuring national security in an increasingly dangerous world.

But then amid these memories which flashed in front of him, the voice of a female newscaster broke through when she said that two of the airplanes had originated from Logan Airport.

Boston.

And then Matt's blood had really run cold as he remembered that C.J. had flown out to Boston several days ago to have an interview with a panel of administrators at Harvard School of Law after she had sent in her application. He knew that it had been her dream since she'd been a young girl to get her degree there and she had taken every step necessary to accomplish that goal.

He pulled out his phone to call her.

"Houston…is that you?"

Just hearing her voice on the other end of the line settled him down and the relief that filled him nearly weakened his knees.

"C.J…you're there."

A pause followed.

"Yeah…I can't believe what's happened…I was just about to call and confirm my flight back for tomorrow and then I got the news."

He felt the emotions in her voice hundreds of miles away that mirrored his own. Disbelief, shock dominated but anger and fear as well but learning that she was safe…he began to relax as he continued watching the news as most of the nation would be the rest of the day trying to wrap its head around an act of terrorism on native soil.

Now nearly a year later, he was in the final days before he would be sent off to serve his country and C.J…he knew she had been finishing a job clerking for a law firm back in Houston. He had last seen her at his going away barbecue that his father had thrown him and Will at the ranch. Most of the neighbors had shown up to eat the generous spread of food and to participate in an impromptu rodeo near the barn area.

C.J. had made quick work of the barrel racing event on her sorrel mare Cheyenne brushing the barrels as she shifted her weight, her hair flying behind her. But then she'd always been a skillful rider.

Afterward she hit the barbecue a bit and then went out and won the team roping competition with Matt much to the chagrin of most of the male contestants. But not Matt, he'd never partner with anyone else for any event on horseback.

"So you are going to head to meet some of these local women? Have a little fun?"

Matt rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"I'm looking forward to the fishing," he said, "just relaxing, not taking orders for a change."

Will chuckled.

"You'll be giving them soon enough," he said, "I know the brass is going to have you lead a post."

Matt didn't know where he'd get assigned but he'd put in for military intelligence. He'd taken some training in that area during his basic and developed an interest in it, his instructors encouraged him to pursue it. Will had opted for a field assignment as close to the front lines as he could get, where the action would be.

"I don't know about that," he said, "I just hope I don't end up in an office somewhere."

"Not likely…not in this war. I think everyone's going to see plenty of action…but until then I'm going to have fun cousin."

Matt had no doubt that Will would do just that, make his last days of freedom memorable.

"So when's Julia coming down?"

Will shrugged.

"Later in the day…she's on some road trip," he said, "going to stop here for a little while."

"I look forward to catching up with her."

Will's mouth curved into a smile.

"Of course…to find out what C.J.'s been up to," he said, "All I heard was that she wasn't too upset to hear Robert was heading off down south."

Matt sighed.

"I told her to be careful with him."

"You know how much she loves being told what to do," Will pointed out, "And my money's on her doing the right thing. Always had a good head on her shoulders…"

"Yeah I know but she's got a soft spot for Robert."

"She's got a soft spot for a few people," Will said, "present company included."

Matt knew that he and she had always been the closest of friends but they'd never been more than that. He hadn't really thought about it that much…no that wasn't quite true…there had been times when he'd wanted more but why mess up a great friendship? Will told him he was being silly about it but Matt had always treasured his relationship with C.J. ever since they met after she showed up at his elementary school one morning. Rumors had swirled around the schoolyard that she'd been orphaned and sent to live with a guardian by the state.

She didn't really look like an orphan wearing a print dress and her hair up off of her face with green clips. Though he noticed by day two, she had started wearing jeans and chambray shirts like most of the boys did which told him she lived on one of the nearby ranches. As it turned out, the one owned by Chuck Myers two spreads down and helped him raise quarter horses.

"The two of you looked like you were having a lot of fun at the party."

Matt furrowed his brows.

"Yeah…we sure did but we always have fun. Not going to be the same not seeing her."

Actually the thought depressed Matt that he'd be away from his closest friend for the next two years. Save a few days of leave now and then when maybe they could meet up somewhere in the middle. But she'd be going to law school in Boston and would probably be busier studying than she'd ever been and when they were both finished…well they'd talked about going into business together in some venture or another.

Will shrugged.

"Well you never know what'll happen in the next couple of days," he said, "Anything's possible and like I said, I plan to make the most of my freedom."

Matt just hoped his cousin wouldn't get too carried away. He had always been worried about him, riding one adrenalin rush after another, taking this stint in the military as if it were another thrill seeking experience. Soon enough, his cousin would find out otherwise and Matt hoped he'd adapt quickly enough to it. Roy had the same concerns and had asked Matt to look after his son as much as he could and Matt had promised him that much.

But going out on the road with him reminded him how much he had his work cut out for him, Will had wanted to stop off at some small town in south eastern Texas to go bungee jumping off of a bridge and dared Matt to join him. Of course, Matt once he saw the devilish look in his cousin's eyes couldn't pass it up.

Then a couple days later it had been paragliding, though Matt enjoyed soaring across a scenic riding the thermals much better. Still he knew if he wasn't careful, Will would wear him out before they reached the base.

When he looked at him right now, Matt just knew he had something up his sleeve.

C.J. threw herself on the bed, adjacent to the one that Julia had already staked out once they stepped inside the motel room. They'd stopped to eat and then bought some tequila at a liquor store to take back with them. C.J. had never been much of a drinker but Julia liked to belt it on down on occasion, mostly as part of an ongoing rebellion against her strict upbringing. She hadn't gotten drunk yet on this road trip but C.J. knew she had pushed the envelope a few times and she'd done her best to keep Julia out of trouble.

Julia had the bottle in her hand and tried to hand it off to C.J. who shook her head.

"You sure you don't want to try it," Julia said, "Man you are a prude sometimes."

C.J. frowned.

"I am not…I just don't like to drink to get drunk."

Julia took another big swallow and just looked at her.

"You can at least drink enough to take the edge off for a change," she said, "You're way too serious. You'll have enough time for that once school starts."

C.J. knew that it wouldn't take long for the intensity to start, for the pressure of the competition inside the nation's toughest law school to hit her but she'd prepared for that. Or so she thought, she hoped because she knew from day one it'd be sink or swim and she had no intentions of drowning. Julia didn't seem nearly as concerned about it as she did and had chided her saying that they only had a few days left before they had to buckle down to study so they might as well make the most of it.

"We should go dancing tonight," Julia said, "Pick up a couple of guys and have some fun."

C.J. rolled over and looked at her.

"Julia, what's Will going to say about that?"

Her friend rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"What do you think he's doing right now," she said, "or thinking about doing?"

C.J. smiled.

"Will's not like that…he's a bit wilder than…"

"than Matt," Julia finished, "Well yeah…of course but Matt's never been that type to party hard."

C.J. liked that about her best friend among other things.

"So he's not…he's too smart to get into that scene," she said, "His father raised him well."

Julia shrugged.

"He's nice…but not my type…now Will on the other hand…"

C.J. had heard an awful lot about Matt's cousin since the road trip started and she knew that Julia looked forward to seeing him before he left on his military assignment. She'd always liked Will herself growing up with him and Matt, he'd been one to tease her but always with affection laced in his voice.

she'd always gotten along with him while growing up with him and Matt.

"Yeah I heard all about it already," C.J. said, "but you'll be seeing him tomorrow before he heads on out and I'll kick back with a good book."

Her words earned her an immediate frown of clear disapproval from Julia.

"Oh no you won't," she said, "We'll think of some way for the three of us to have some fun."

C.J. arched a brow and Julia laughed at her.

"I don't mean that…I mean there's a lake there and we can go fish or swim…here, you better drink some of this tequila."

"Okay maybe a small glass."

Julia found a plastic glass and filled it up nearly to the top before handing it to C.J. who sipped it slowly. Her experiences with tequila leaving her a bit cautious….but the liquor warmed her throat and her muscles started to relax.

"Better?"

C.J. lay back on the bed looking at the ceiling.

"You worried about Will going overseas to fight in that war?"

Julia paused and C.J. could tell from her silence that she had been thinking about it a lot. Her friend had her serious moments amid all the gaiety. C.J. heard the mattress springs creak in the next bed as Julia got up most likely to drink more tequila.

"Yeah….I guess so but he and Matt went and got all that training," she said, "and they won't be alone out there so they should be safe…as safe as they can be I guess."

C.J. digested that information closing her eyes wishing she could accept it as easily as Julia appeared to do so but…she'd been thinking about all the thousand of things that could happen to Will and his cousin Matt during their military service. She didn't want to think about any one of them too hard.

"What about you, you worried about Matt?"

C.J. paused rolling over to rest her head on her hand while facing Julia.

"Sometimes…I know that no one can handle himself better in any situation than he can…but still…I don't know what I'd do if something happened…"

Julia nodded, still sipping her drink.

"Yeah I know…I've been having these dreams about Will…that he's in a desert somewhere and there's all this fire raging around him…and I'm standing there watching him and then all of a sudden…"

Julia closed her eyes before she'd continue.

"What…?"

"The ground starts to crumble like an earthquake only it's not and he sinks beneath it until he's gone…"

"It's just a nightmare…"

"I know but all I can remember when I wake up is how helpless I feel watching him disappear…my feet are frozen to the ground and I can't even move."

C.J. could relate to that having had similar dreams of helplessly watching something awful happen to Matt but she figured in situations like this, it was normal. She sat up on the bed and flipped her hair back.

"I've had dreams like that…that's all they are you know."

Julia nodded again and this time she didn't reach for the tequila. She got up and brushed herself off and smiled at C.J.

"Let's go out and do something tonight…go see a movie and forget about dreaming."

C.J. nodded in agreement.

"An early movie…we've got to get up bright and early tomorrow to make an early start to the lake."

"That'll be fun…to see Will again before we have to say goodbye for a long while."

A pang of sadness hit C.J. just then wishing she had the same opportunity to do that with Matt. Oh, they'd said their goodbyes in a matter of speaking at the barbecue but she felt his absence so keenly now. If only she could see his face, grab hold of him and his cologne wafting close to her one more time…she shook her head as she got up to go get her purse.

No, they had said their goodbyes before heading their separate direction and there'd be no looking back.

But still a part of her hoped…

Matt watched Will reel in a fish where they sat on a boat they had rented from the campsite owner. They had got just the right bait to hook up some of the legendary trout in the lake that were rumored to be giants among their species. Matt figured it was all just a bunch of fish storytelling but they'd find out soon enough.

The fish wiggling inside the boat, still hooked on the line looked quite big…but mortal size. Still, it would taste great after being fried on an open fire in front of their bungalow.

"See you match that one…"

Matt saw Will reach for a beer out of the cooler and open the tab. He still had his own line in the water and had gotten some nibbles but no serious bites yet.

"I think I will…"

Will just leaned back in the boat as it rocked on the water. The sun shone down in full force on the lake, its heat baking the air. Yet neither of them felt uncomfortably hot.

"Nothing better than this," Matt said, "Beautiful day, on a lake filled with fish that just happen to grab the wrong hook."

Will chuckled.

"They know a good thing when they see it."

Matt watched his cousin and noticed how he sipped his beer, clearly enjoying each moment. They'd spent hours fishing together while growing up, spending hours out in the quietness of the water in some wilderness area listening to each other talk. They'd shared so much together while growing up, which made them closer than brothers. Matt remembered the promise he'd made to his Uncle Roy and Aunt Flo to keep a close eye on Will. His parents loved their only child but they knew like Matt how often he tried to push the envelope on any experience. They loved him for it but it worried them all too.

"So cuz…are you going to meet yourself a pretty girl to hang with?"

Matt just flashed him another look which caused Will to roll his eyes as he sipped his beer.

"Might not have to if Julia brings her friend with her…"

That perked Matt's interest. Friend…did that mean that…

"Really…"

Will just laughed at him.

"Time for you to catch that next fish," he said, "unless you want to concede that I'm the better fisherman…"

Matt grabbed a beer from the chest and popped it open. Nothing like cold beer taken off ice on a hot day while out fishing, nothing except…

But he just sipped his beer and reached for his pole to send the line with a flick of his wrist out into the ripples riding the surface of the lake in answer.


	2. Face to Face

C.J. woke up in the morning, holding her sheets to her body while Julia remained asleep in the next bed. Her heart beat quickly, and she felt her breathing slow down as she gazed around her at the slats of sunlight entering through the window.

That told her that morning had arrived and they'd better get packed up so they could get some breakfast before heading out to the lake. Julia and she had gone to an early meeting and some dinner afterward and had turned in soon afterward. Not long after Julia had called up Will on the phone and told him when they'd be arriving. That's when she learned that Matt had been staying with him. She had thought that he would be heading to the base taking coastal roads and perhaps stopping in New Orleans to meet up with Christina. At least that's what Christina had hoped he'd do even though the two of them had split up months earlier.

But apparently Matt had decided otherwise. So she'd be seeing him again at the lake when she arrived there with Julia. After the dream that she had just had, she didn't know what she thought about that. Sure she wanted to see him again, feeling that their goodbyes back at the ranch party had been incomplete…but she bit her lip in deep thought remembering back to when she'd been asleep. Remnants of her dream remained though most of it, the vague storyline anyway had already faded away lost forever. But not all of it.

They'd been kissing…she remembered that much. She couldn't tell where but they'd been standing in some naturalist setting, their arms wrapped around each other and their mouths exploring each other's. The first time their lips had touched had been almost in passing, a whisper compared to what followed. Soon enough, their mouths molded together and she couldn't help herself but she had started tracing his lips with the tip of her tongue. Never asking herself why she did that as she would have in the real world. Dreaming held no hard and fast rules after all, no script to follow; those in the midst of it just followed their urges.

Still when she woke up and reality hit in…she felt her cheeks flush even as she came back down to earth. She looked around to see an empty room except for Julia and then she wondered where the hell this dream had come from. After all, she and Matt…they'd always just been friends, best friends since they were kids but nothing more than that. Sure now and then they flirted a bit, shared a kiss that promised more than it delivered before they returned to their well defined roles. Still, it wasn't like she had never wondered what it would be like to step outside those boundaries.

Not that he'd ever go for it. He had always favored girlfriends who were known mostly for their beauty and he never remained interested in any woman for long. After all, his latest Christina had lasted about six months before they broke up six months ago. When she saw him at the barbecue, he'd been alone like she had been and they'd sat and talked when they hadn't been doing rodeo events. But when it came time to leave, they had said goodbye because he'd be heading out on a road trip which would ultimately take him to where he'd get his assignment.

She didn't know when she'd see him again.

Getting out of bed, she headed to shower and get ready for breakfast, what was left of her dream slipping away from her mind.

Matt ate a scramble of eggs and bacon washing it down with orange juice outside the kitchenette while Will talked to Julia on the phone. Judging by the sound of his voice, it seemed that she would arrive soon at the campsite.

"I'll see you in a few hours," Will said, "Don't get lost."

He clicked off the phone and looked over at Matt.

"She's on her way," he said, "So what do you want to do tonight?"

Matt finished up his eggs and his juice.

"I thought you'd be going out on the town with her."

Will chuckled.

"Not much of a town here," he said, "but we might go out to a club off the highway and do some dancing."

"Sounds like a plan."

"What about you?"

Matt smiled.

"I think I'll sit out by the lake and watch the fireflies. Stars packing the skies…as far as you can see."

Will snorted.

"Sounds too quiet and tame for me, you sure you don't want to join us."

Matt nodded.

"Yeah I'm sure. Threes a crowd and I'm looking forward to the quiet."

Will stood up to get some more eggs out of the pan and the last of the bacon before returning to the table.

"If you say so but consider the invitation to join us open."

Matt just focused on eating his breakfast but his mind wandered to the barbecue when he'd last seen her…he sighed and got up taking his dishes to the kitchenette to wash them and put them on the rack to dry.

He knew he was going in the direction that he wanted, eschewing a professional football career and postponing graduate school to serve his country in the military. And with Will going with him, it'd be a great adventure at the same time. He'd traveled all around the world for pleasure but now he'd be doing it for a more meaningful purpose, to help ensure the security of the armed forces serving as well as what were called civilians living in the country that born and raised him.

After arriving wherever his orders sent him, he'd have to hit the ground running just to keep up, maybe to keep alive. He'd be too busy to think about the people he left behind, his father, uncle and his best friend. She'd be busy enough too with her legal studies, both of them working towards the day they'd be reunited again back in Houston.

Until then…he closed his eyes as he sat back on the sofa again in the living area.

"Julia's going to be staying here tonight with me," Will said, "no need for her to rent a separate bungalow."

Matt looked over where his cousin sat down in a chair nearby.

"What about her friend?"

Will's eyes lit up mischievously, or so it seemed to Matt.

"Oh that…oh come on Houston, you know she's got C.J. with her."

Matt blinked. No he hadn't known that because he'd figured…he thought that C.J. had some business to take care of before she headed to Boston with where she'd clerked.

"They've been on the road nearly as long as us," Will said, "just checking out the sights on the way back East."

Matt thought what it would be like to see her again. When they had said goodbye back at the ranch, it had seemed rushed…

"So I guess she'll be staying with you…"

Matt's brows shot up and Will smiled in response.

"Oh come on…the place has two bedrooms so that shouldn't be a problem for you unless…you decide to share."

Matt sighed.

"We're just best friends Will, we've been like that most of our lives. You know that."

Will shrugged as he got up to leave the room.

"Whatever you say cuz… but you know what they say about guys and girls being friends."

Matt had heard the stories about how it was impossible for men and women to be close friends without…without crossing that line. Sure he and C.J. had flirted with it a few times but it had been all in fun. Nothing serious about it at all.

"You and Julia have a good time tonight," he said, "C.J. and I'll just catch up like we always do."

C.J. looked out at the lake, which spanned out as far as she could see. Looking across its width, she could just about make the treed coastline in the distance. Sunlight splashed across the surface and she could see that quite a few guests had taken their boats out.

Julia looked over at her.

"So you are going to be okay with Matt because Will and I…we're going to be quite busy."

C.J. smiled over at her friend. Julia's relationship with Matt's cousin had certainly taken off, but then maybe it was the fact that they'd be split apart by their divergent paths that had lent urgency to it. But weren't she and Matt facing the same circumstances?

She knew she'd really miss him so much and she'd spend time worrying about him, what he faced in terms of the dangers and unpredictability of working in a combat zone. But their friendship had always been marked with carefully drawn boundaries erected over the years beginning when they'd been young yet still years later, well they wouldn't be quite as busy as Will and Julia. That's just the way it had to be as it always had been between them. As soon as she saw him her doubts would slip away and she'd smile and slip into his warm embrace only thinking about the fleeting time she had to spend with him. No need to make it more complicated than that because after today…they'd be apart for a long time.

Still, as she looked up, she saw him standing next to Will waiting for them by the bungalows and she sucked in her breath. He had always been a great looking guy, the top of any woman's list but as he stood there with a couple days growth darkening his jaw and his brown eyes looking intently at her, she did what she always did, she melted. Lean yet ruggedly built, he wore a life time of spending his days outdoors ranching on his frame where his jeans and casual university tee-shirt hugged his body. What woman wouldn't want to walk right up to him and slide her hands around his waist to draw him closer to her while brushing his lips with her own, gently at first and then…

"C.J. are we going to stand here all day or go greet our guys?"

She looked over at Julia who flashed her a look of amusement as if she'd read her thoughts just now. C.J. smoothed out her jeans and the two women walked to where the guys were standing. Matt's eyes lit up and his face curved into a smile beneath his mustache when she approached. The embrace came naturally as it always had, their bodies molding comfortably together, as he squeezed her. She knew then he had missed her just as much.

Will winked over at them as he wrapped his arm around Julia.

"We'll see you around…"

Matt and C.J. watched them take off towards Will's bungalow and figured they'd catch up to them at dinner. They'd decided to have some of the fish at the barbecue area along with vegetables and other side dishes.

"I'm glad Will's found someone," Matt said, "He's been kind of aimless in his relationships."

C.J. smiled.

"No more than you since you broke up with Christina," she said, "So how'd your meet up go with her?"

He shrugged, figuring that she'd get right to the point about where things stood between him and his ex-girlfriend.

"Didn't happen. I…we didn't see the point of it. She's heading out of New Orleans to Paris for three months anyway."

C.J. digested that information and then placed a hand on his shoulder looking at him.

"I see…look I'm the last one to judge anyone after what happened in Amarillo and…."

Meaning when Robert had gotten himself arrested and Matt had made the very difficult decision to just leave him there. Actually, decisions like that had gotten less so because Matt had realized that he had to stop bailing his wayward friend out of jams. Robert had to start growing up and deal with his own crises, though he knew that C.J. hadn't been too happy about his decision at first, though she'd gone along with it.

Matt turned to face her.

"Do you love him?"

She blinked her eyes and looked at her best friend.

"Do you love Christina?"

Matt's mouth became a fine line and she knew that he knew she had answered his question. But it was more complicated than that with Robert and she really didn't want to get into it with him standing outside with him and her suitcase.

And she didn't want to waste the precious time they had together talking about messed up relationships.

"Why don't you show me where I'll be staying okay?"

Matt nodded and slipped his arm around her again pulling her close. She rested her head against him, smelling his cologne. Then he helped C.J. with her things as they walked towards his bungalow. Julia had told her that she'd be sharing Will's with him and that left C.J. to spend the night at Matt's. No problems there because they'd shared close quarters before and it had worked out just fine. They'd talk late into the night and then turn in because they both had a lot of traveling ahead of them until they reached their new destinations.

They walked inside the bungalow which was small but nicely laid out and furnished and he led her to the spare bedroom where she dropped her bag on the floor beside her bed. She walked to the window and looked out onto the lake now as smooth as glass, the sun still shimmering on it as it was late afternoon. She heard him milling around in the living room and went to shower and change her clothes, anything to get the memory of traveling away from her. She picked out her favorite pair of jeans and a buttoned up cotton blouse worn out by many wash cycles.

It felt so good to be standing in one place and not on the road and so good to know that her best friend was in the other room, in the flesh instead of on the other side of a static filled telephone line. She just wanted to enjoy this time they had together, she thought as she brushed out her curly hair as it dried. After she got dressed, she walked to the living room where he sat on the couch and she plunked down beside him.

She took a deep breath.

"I told Robert that he was on his own," she said, "He's heading to shoot some documentary in South America."

Matt appeared to take that news in and shifted his position on the couch.

"C.J. I'm sorry about Amarillo…"

She rested her hand on his shoulder again.

"No Houston…you were right about him. He's got to take responsibility for his own life especially if he does stupid things believing we'll bail him out."

Matt nodded, relieved that C.J. shared his own thoughts on the matter. He knew that if they kept serving as backup for Robert while he engaged in one risky endeavor after another, eventually the day would come when he dug himself into deeply for rescue. His growing impatience had begun to edge closer to resentment towards his friend and his concern that led to his decision stemmed largely from the realization that before that happened, he'd hurt C.J whether he meant to do so or not. For Matt, that was the one line that no one not even Robert could cross and not receive a response.

But he hadn't told her that. As she sat beside him in companionable silence on the couch for a while, he still didn't tell her. She turned her head to look at him.

"Houston…so what's the story with Christina or do you not want to talk about it?"

He sighed and the couch springs squeaked as he shifted his body to face hers.

"We had a great thing going for a while but our lives…we're just not heading in the same course that's all."

Her brow arched up at him.

"And you don't go for long-distance relationships?"

He had thought about that long and hard and the truth had been waiting at the end to tell him that no, he couldn't maintain a serious relationship with a woman thousands of miles away while fighting a war.

"It wouldn't work out…besides I can't have any distractions."

She nodded quickly enough.

"I know that Houston…and I'd never hold that against you if I loved you…that way…"

His brows furrowed, his muscles tensed at her words.

"What do you mean by that?"

She collected herself realizing what she had said and trying to formulate her words…just the right words to tell him. The thing was, she had a hard time pinning them down as visions well, of other things filled her head. She slowed her breathing down and flipped a lock of hair back with her fingers before she spoke.

"I just mean that I understand why you can't be distracted by a girlfriend miles away, you've got to do what you need to do to stay alive Houston until it's time for you to come home."

"So you'd understand."

She nodded, rubbing her forehead.

"Not that I wouldn't worry…not that I won't worry…"

He heard the concern lacing the casual tone she tried to infuse in her voice. He stroked a strand of hair back with his own fingers this time, looking at her.

"I'm going to be just fine…I'm going to do my bit for Uncle Sam and then I'm coming back to that life we talked about."

She smiled at him.

"Oh yeah, we were talking about going into business together and by then, I'll have my degree from Harvard."

"Yep and we're going to ourselves a hell of a time," he said, "but in the meanwhile, I think we'd best go meet the others and get some dinner."

She got up with him as they walked towards the door.

"But you did love her didn't you?"

Silence met her for a moment before he spoke.

"Yeah, yeah I did…"

The four of them laughed over slightly over cooked trout that had blackened on the edges and vegetables that C.J. and Julia had heated up in the kitchenette in Will's bungalow while the men focused on the barbecue. Julia had been slicing them up while C.J. tossed them on the broiler.

"So you and Matt got caught up?"

"Yeah, yeah we did and what about you and Will?"

Julia smiled widely.

"In a manner of speaking…not that we did much talking."

C.J. just chuckled as she finished up the vegetables.

"Didn't waste much time did you?"

Julia shrugged.

"Not much time left to waste," she said, "They're going off to war and who knows when we'll see them again."

C.J. swallowed hard as she heard her friend's words. It'd be months maybe a couple of years for sure, but if something happened and they didn't return at all…she closed her eyes as a sharp pain hit her chest…no she didn't want to think about that. Julia got some plates to take out to the tables near the barbecue area.

"Maybe you should make the most of your time with Matt while you're together."

"I am doing that…we spent most of the afternoon catching up."

Julia threw her a pointed look.

"No that's not what I mean."

"Then what….oh no Julia it's not like that between us. It's never been like that."

Julia leaned back at the counter as she studied C.J.

"I know…by the shade of pink on your face right now girlfriend but this is different…he's going away and you don't know when he'll be coming back."

C.J. sighed again not wanting to imagine all the things that could happen to a man serving in a war zone.

"You don't even know if he'll be coming back."

C.J. rubbed her forehead.

"Don't say that…Houston's going to come back after he's finished serving."

"You don't know that…there are hundreds of men and women who died so far and most of them…all of them probably believed that they'd make it home."

C.J. knew that because every week the newspaper back in Texas had ran a column of all the military personnel serving in combat who had been killed and most of them had been around the same age as her and Matt. But that wouldn't be him, it would never be him, Matt had always been able to handle himself even in the most difficult situations. He'd already cheated death before…more than once.

"After all, you and he have an entire bungalow to yourselves," Julia said, "might as well make the most of it."

C.J. shook her head.

"No…I don't think so," she said, "I think it's a bad idea."

Julia tilted her face.

"You're attracted to him; I know you are so don't lie to me."

C.J. nodded, unable to deny that much even to herself.

"Yeah I am…but I'm not the only one," she said, "and it'd mess up our friendship."

Julia just looked at her directly.

"He's going to war C.J. and he might not come back," she said, "and you'll regret not letting him now how you really feel about him. I know that because I know you."

Julia picked up the vegetable dishes and left the kitchen just like that as C.J. watched. Her mind spinning with what Julia had suggested that she and Matt do during their last night together for a long time. She immediately rejected it at least inside her head but damn if her fingers didn't itch to touch him and her mouth…no she couldn't go there not with him and she couldn't even think further down this path. Some things just weren't ever meant to happen and messing up the most important relationship of her life was one of them.

But as the four of them ate their dinner in the growing twilight, listening to the gentle lapping of the waves on the shore of the lake, she'd found her mind wandering during their casual conversation. The kind that often happened among friends with richly defined histories going back to youth. She bit her lip looking over at Matt several times when he wasn't aware of it, Julia's words returning to her. Maybe…but no even if she wanted something more at least for a little while, Matt wouldn't want to share that with her. He would pull the reins on anything happened because of their relationship if she didn't or couldn't.

Finally Will stood up, pulling up a giggling Julia with him. The four of them had been hitting some of the wine that Julia had brought, though C.J. only had a couple glasses. It left her feeling warm and relaxed but fully in control of her senses.

"We'll take leave of you now and see you in the morning…"

Julia kissed Will on the mouth before he wrapped his arm around her. Before they walked too far, Will turned his head around at Matt and C.J. and winked.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do…."

And just like that, Matt and C.J. found themselves alone.


	3. Poker Match

Once when she had been 17, C.J. had fallen off of her horse while riding across the meadow with a bunch of ranch hands to work on a fallen fence on the far side. She had been keeping pace as she always did with the older men when suddenly her horse stumbled and she only had enough time to release her hold on the reins to avoid getting tangled up when she went flying.

But one didn't learn how to ride a horse without doing a lot of falling and learning just how to fall.

She didn't get hurt, something she realized after a quick inventory of her body but the hands hadn't noticed she was no longer just behind them. Her horse had stopped a few yards away and started grazing as if nothing happened. She sat there for a moment, knowing she had to stand up on shaky legs and get back on her horse to head off after them before they noticed her missing.

But she hesitated.

She knew when they discovered her spill that they would mercilessly tease her especially the foreman. They would explain all the reasons why she shouldn't be out there working alongside them and say it was no job for a woman, not when there were other things they could be doing.

Then one of the hands would make some joke about what she really should be doing which was spreading her legs and breeding brats for some man. She hadn't ever liked them all that much when they acted like that.

So she sat with her hands pressing behind her against the soft ground and then she heard the sound of hoof beats, the sound and sight of a horse's legs being pulled to a stop and then a pair of worn boots attached to muscular denim clad legs landing on the ground solidly.

"What you doing on the ground," that familiar voice asked.

She looked up to see Matt looking down at her. He had still been built a little rangy back then, only starting to fill out with muscle. He had just graduated from high school and rumor had it, had already started hanging at the clubs after football practice.

"Checking out the scenery…"

"You hurt?"

"Nope…just about to fetch my horse and head on to the fence…"

He reached his gloved hand and she grabbed it and he hoisted her back on her feet where she brushed the grass, dirty and a tiny flower or two off of her clothes.

"They're going to make fun of me like they always do…"

"Just ignore them…they don't mean anything by it."

Now years later, sitting near him at the barbecue she felt the same feelings rush inside her that she did that day. She couldn't make sense of any of them so she just sat there rubbing her hands together. A sure sign that she wasn't comfortable to anyone who knew her.

Especially someone who knew her as well as Matt who sat there watching quietly while she looked out at the lake.

"We should take these dishes in," she said finally.

He nodded and together they gathered everything to take to his bungalow where they stood side by side washing the plates in silence. She wondered where his thoughts took him now and hoped he couldn't read hers. All through dinner, Julia's words kept returning to her and now…no she'd better keep them to herself. If she said anything to Matt about what she'd been thinking…no he'd just try to make a joke about it and laugh and this time, he'd hurt her without knowing it.

So she said nothing while she washed the dishes and he dried them and placed them on a rack near the sink.

Matt watched the woman sideways while he dried the dishes she handed to him with a towel. They worked together well as a team like they always did, he thought remembering how days earlier they had won that team roping event at the party. Most of the time they didn't need to use words to communicate, a product of their lifelong friendship. He'd been thinking about her a lot during dinner…only not the way he usually did. Okay, maybe he'd had these thoughts before but tonight they'd seemed more insistent and intruded no matter what topic the four of them had discussed in conversation.

Not to mention the images that took up residence in his head. He'd tried to push them away but they wouldn't budge this time. She'd been right there standing in front of him, only instead of her clothes, he'd seen bare skin. What he'd glimpsed before as well as well, parts of her he'd never seen. Once that got started, he couldn't stop thinking. ..as other senses started coming into play. The way that soft skin of hers would feel under his fingers…how her body would taste underneath his mouth, both its sweetness and its twang. He'd fidgeted a bit while he sat not that anyone noticed because Will and Julia had been so into each other and C.J. had seemed…distracted. Probably thinking back to her last conversation with Robert and running it through her head again.

She stood there next to him casually washing dishes while his imagination ran wild. Reining it in just didn't work and he guessed the circumstances of their lives diverging and their futures remaining shrouded in uncertainty drove his thoughts. She ran the hot water to rinse the rivulets of soap off a dish and he'd be imagining how he'd create a romantic setting for her. Softening the lighting, maybe with some candles in the bedroom…wine to drink and the right music…his mind in full seductive mode…only the woman next to him wasn't like the others.

"Houston, do you have any more soap?"

He broke his thoughts reluctantly and looked beneath the sink finding a spare bottle which he handed to her.

"The food was great wasn't it?"

"Sure was…now despite what Will told you, I did catch half the fish."

She chuckled, running the fingers of one hand across his back in a spirit of friendship but Matt's body tensed anyway. She didn't seem to notice and returned to washing dishes.

"I'm sure you did and it was very delicious."

They finished up the dishes and left them on the rack until the morning. He rested a hand on her back as they walked to the living room, where she sat on the couch. He went to the small wet bar.

"Would you like something?"

She nodded.

"More wine please…I thought I found some Sonoma Valley vintage earlier."

He reached for the bottle, uncorked it and poured them both glasses returning to the couch. She sipped hers slowly.

"This is very nice."

God, she hoped he didn't pick the nervousness in her voice, see it in her posture as she sat down on the sofa. She looked around the room as if seeing it for the first time though she had seen it earlier that day. Photos of the lake and some of the people fishing there going back decades and a portrait of Sam Houston on the wall over the sofa. The furniture was rustic, but distinctly masculine and she figured, it fit the typical fisherman's hangout in between catches.

Matt sipped his wine too. She knew he didn't drink wine often, opting either for ice cold beer on a hot afternoon or harder liquor like Scotch the rest of the time. He smiled at the question on her face.

"Special occasion…it's good vintage…someone must have left it behind."

"Houston… "

"Hey, we're not going to see each other for a while and I want to make the most of the time we do have together."

"It's no big deal…"

"It is to me C.J. You're very special to me and I hope you know that…life's not going to be the same without you right there."

He sounded so damn sincere when he said that…she sipped the wine looking at him. His warm brown eyes, his thick crop of hair and that mustache she already know tickled when he kissed her in friendly greeting. How would it feel if he kissed her now? And the shadow on his face, how would that feel against her mouth? She shouldn't be thinking about that, she should be concentrating on the time spent with him so she could hold as many memories inside of her to get her through until they reunited again.

Matt sipped his wine, watching her. She wondered if he saw right inside of her right now, through to her excitement, her impatience, but also some fear. No, she didn't want him to look that deep inside of her…not now.

"So how's your trip with Julia gone?"

She shrugged.

"Great…and don't worry we didn't get into any trouble."

He chuckled.

"I'm not sure whether to believe you about that…the things you two have gotten yourselves into…"

As if she needed any reminder of some of them including a couple Matt had to extricate her from back when they'd both been younger. In some ways, she hadn't been much different than Robert but unlike him, she'd grown up.

"What about you, you and Will ready to kill each other yet?"

"Not so far but we've got two days left until we reach the base."

Silence fell between them as they sipped their wine, she on the couch, he in a nearby chair. She didn't want to think about him and Will arriving there and getting their assignments to be sent into some danger zone. She didn't want to worry knowing it wouldn't do any of them any good.

She looked at him, blowing softly through her pursed lips while the latest glass of wine began to envelope her body with warmth.

"I don't know how this goes Matt…I don't know how to say goodbye to you."

"Hey now, just relax…we've got all night until we have to leave and this is a good time for just kicking back drinking a little wine and talking…"

She nodded.

"Okay because I…"

He put his glass and moved to sit next to her on the couch. She certainly looked as if she had dressed for comfort with a button down shirt over a pair of slacks.

And then he wondered what she wore underneath. He wondered if he'd ever have the courage to find out. He wondered how she'd react when he found it. Then it hit him that there was only one way he wanted this night to end but…he looked over at her still sipping her wine looking deep in thought.

But first things first and that was getting her comfortable…and plenty relaxed before he stepped things up a notch. It was like luring a horse into a body of water, it had to be coaxed into doing it step by step so by the time the horse figured out what was going on, it was already chest deep. He knew what he was doing both with horses and women but this was a whole lot different…and it mattered a lot more than anything in the past. His body pushed him forward almost faster than he wanted to go but the woman next to him just meant to much to rush anything with so he had to settle down here. He had to remember what his experiences taught him about proceeding slowly.

And that's how he'd handle C.J.…step by step.

"You nervous about this…?"

When he looked at her like he did now, she couldn't bother denying it. She knew where they were both heading too.

"A little…"

He nodded.

"That's okay…me too…but there's no reason to be."

Damn he had just read her mind.

"I already know that…it's just that it's different for a woman than a guy."

He sighed.

"What do you mean?"

But she looked away just then as if she didn't want him to see her face.

"It's just different…not as easy to walk away from…at least not for me."

He studied her face carefully, not paying any attention to the seconds ebbing by just focusing on the woman sitting next to him.

"Does it have to be?"

She didn't look like she exactly believed him but he'd show her later. For now, he knew to take it slowly, but he had learned early enough in life that the best things couldn't be rushed. So it would be with her.

He brightened.

"Fortunately I brought my deck of cards…"

"Your what?"

"You heard me, ever play poker…and don't say you haven't because I know you're pretty good."

She smiled at that.

"I'm not bad…Julia won't play with me anymore."

"That's what I'm counting on," he said, "because we're going to play a game…"

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"A game…I thought…"

"Hush now…okay listen up…the game's poker…"

"Okay…I hope you brought your wallet then," she said, "if that's the way you want to play."

His eyes narrowed.

"Is there any other way?"

She shrugged casually at him, feeling anything but underneath her skin.

"Maybe."

His eyes sparkled as he whipped out his deck and they started playing several hands and sure enough, she won most of them. Fortunately they had kept the stakes fairly small but still she was getting wealthier by the minute. Occasionally, they took a break to pour themselves some more of that fine Sonoma Valley vintage. C.J. just felt the tension slip right on out of her and her body relax, her mind beginning to wander to other things. Suddenly what she'd been thinking about the past few hours didn't seem so crazy anymore, not giving into how she felt seemed more insane. Meaning that he would be leaving the next day to go thousands of miles away from her and the country that had raised him and who knew when he'd be coming back?

And she knew then if she didn't act, she might live to regret it.

She'd watched him while they played, wondering what he'd been thinking but he hadn't given anything away.

"We're not playing for money this time…"

He looked at her startled as she began to deal the cards.

"We're not?"

She shook her head and put the rest of the cards down on the table.

"No, the game we're about to play is strip poker…you lose a hand, you take off an item of clothing…your choice…same with me…"

She just looked at that startled look on his face began transforming into one of his easy going smiles, the kind that would make any woman's legs weaken.

Shaking her head, she picked up her cards to check out her hand waiting to see how he'd respond to her set of rules for their poker playing.

Ah, crap…came to mind first…then she smiled at him wondering if he were thinking the same thing.

C.J. knew she held a crappy hand…again and reached to draw a card. She had lost the first two rounds and there had gone her shoes which was easy enough. He teased her lightly about starting with her feet, but when he lost the next couple of rounds after that, he chose his boots.

He still had socks and she had hers too and had kept on everything else including a few things that might surprise him.

She didn't know if he played seriously or not from one hand to the next because face it, the goal for both of them was to get the other one buck naked first and then they both knew what would happen.

Because the way he'd been looking at her…she felt both turned on and vulnerable under his gaze. And so the poker game would continue with wins and losses on both sides.

Only problem was that he wore more clothing than she did so if she kept losing…she'd be down to maybe a little wisp of lace before he even got his shirt off. The only parts of his body bare right now were his feet.

She put down her spread of cards.

"I got two pairs…."

He smiled back at her.

"So do I… show yours first…"

She put down a pair of threes and a pair of sixes and raised her brows at him. He just smiled and put down two pairs, both aces.

Four of a kind…damn….the kind of cursing that indicated both frustration and excitement.

"You got to take something off…I know what I'd like to see…what you're wearing underneath that shirt."

She started breathing harder at the look of anticipation on his face as he leaned back for the show. But while her hands moved towards her shirt to unbutton it, nervous tension filled her too. How had this evening reached this point?

"I…"

"One button at a time darling…that's all it takes."

So she continued working her way down her shirt, stumbling a couple times and hoping he didn't notice. She didn't know what the big deal was because it wasn't like she was naked underneath. After finally reaching the final button, she opened up her shirt and heard him suck in his breath sharply.

"Oh my…."

She shot him a look.

"Oh my…what…?"

"When a man acts like this, it's a compliment as you know," he said, "Nothing to be worried about…you look beautiful in black lace…"

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Thanks…and I'm not worried."

"Course you're going to look more beautiful out of it…but first things first…now all the way off with that shirt…"

She pulled it back slowly and slipped it off of her shoulders, exposing her creamy skin to him, her breasts nestled in the lace, generous in their roundness and pushing against the bra as designed.

He just looked at her quietly, his face pensive.

"What are you thinking?"

"Want to know the truth?"

She nodded.

"How it's going to feel when I take one of those nipples in my mouth…how you'll taste…I bet they're a nice rosy pink…and soft until they're in my mouth."

Oh god, did he have to say that to her because right now…she could see him doing that suckling on one of her nipples as she threw her head back because she knew right now how good it would feel…and her nipples did too because they pushed against her bra harder and began to ache. But she wasn't supposed to be feeling like this was she, not about him of all people. It had to be the wine. Still she wasn't letting him get off easy with his rhapsodizing about her body parts.

"Matlock Houston…when did you start using that as a come on?"

He sat up and took notice then because she rarely called him by his name.

"What's wrong…I'm just calling it as I see it."

She put a smile on her face to cover for the fact that what he said turned her on.

"That sounds…nice…"

He chuckled.

"Nice is going to be the last thought on your mind when I'm doing it but there's a lot you're going to enjoy tonight I promise…"

She picked up the deck to deal the cards this time, trying to not feel self-conscious wearing her bra in front of him.

The one she'd knew would be coming off soon…Especially if she kept losing because damn it, his poker playing skills had certainly stepped up a notch once the stakes changed. But finally, she pulled a full house over his single pair of sevens. Her eyes caught his as he smiled, opting to remove his shirt.

She watched him from where she sat taking off his university tee-shirt exposing his muscular chest, the one she already knew that she liked. It was tanned and sprinkled with dark hair, that she wanted to feel between her fingers as she lightly tugged on it…and against her breasts. His nipples were dusk colored and perfectly round…she wondered whether he would like it if she tasted them? She wanted to find out.

So many things she still didn't know…too many questions and she pushed them aside so she could concentrate… on who would get who naked first. And so the card playing continued, with some easy banter between them amid the shedding of clothing.

As it was now, he still had his jeans on…and she had just gotten up to peel her pants off, pulling them down feeling his eyes on her as she pushed them down her legs revealing her panties and thigh highs.

"Oh land sakes C.J.…"

She thought she heard excitement and something else…in his voice. She looked down at him standing in front of him in her black lingerie, her skin goose pimpled from contact with the cool air…but also uneasiness. He looked up at her leaning back in the couch unable to take his eyes off of her there in front of him.

And how could he, when this beautifully sculpted woman stood in front of him, her breasts pushed up by her bra and her panties clinging to her pelvis and the contrast of the lacy thigh highs against her bare skin, so damn sexy…it took his breath away.

And if he hadn't been getting hard enough during the poker game, watching her know, the part of him he had never seen pushed him to the limit. He put his cards down and stood up.

"Poker game's over…"

She looked puzzled wrapping her arms around herself.

"But we've still got clothes on…"

"That's not going to be for long…"

The growl in his voice when he said that so matter of fact heated her blood and made her skin tingle….her body ached like a slow burn. He walked towards her, unbuttoning his jeans, exposing a shock of hair and stood in front of her.

"Take off my pants for me darling…"

She just looked at him.

"Come on…," he coaxed, "I can't do it…not when my hands want to be on you."

Damn, she heard the timbre in his voice that told her that he looked at her…and that he wanted to take this to the bedroom.

He needed to be with her in an elemental way…just like she needed to be with him…only him. So she bit her lip and reached her hands towards his jeans and tugged at the zipper, gingerly at first and then pulled it down, listening to the rasping sound.

But only hearing the rapid beat of her own heart…and her own sighs…as he stood there patiently.

She struggled a bit pushing the pants over his hips and he helped her, placing his warm hands over her faltering ones. The jeans dropped to his feet and he stepped right out of them, his eyes still on her and then he took her in his arms, kissing her softly at first so she could prepare for him, then deepening his kiss, slowly, like gradually warming waters and she met his mouth eagerly.

Wrapping her arms around him brought him closer to her which she needed, to feel his muscular chest, against her breasts and his hardness that strained his briefs against the cleft of her panties.

Oh she definitely needed him there.

He did a slow burn against her, rocking and moving against her in a way that elicited pleasure sensations from her body.

"Ah….."

He heard her gasp…and he reached his hands behind her to unclasp her bra…as much as he liked her in it, he wanted her out of it…now.

No he needed her to bare her breasts to him…he had to taste…suck on her nipples which had hardened just at the thought. He knew it would be pleasurable for her too, and to help her relax. He sensed her nervousness through her skin, and he whispered soothing words to her in between kisses about just how beautiful she looked right now and not to worry about anything.

He separated long enough to ease her bra straps across her sensitized skin and down her arms. He did it so smoothly she didn't even know he had removed her bra until he had palmed her breasts and then he lowered his mouth on them to give them some oral attention.

She gasped when she felt his mouth around one of her nipples and the suction that tugged on it, pulling it into the warmth that embraced it. Her breath came more quickly…and she purred.

And her own hands reached, clutched for his back while he worshipped her breasts. The sensations that struck her all at once…almost too much, too fast….she moaned against him.

His hands moved lower and before she realized it, he slipped his hand into her panties and started stroking her there. She saw the expression on his face change when she realized how aroused she had become already.

But he knew it wasn't enough to prepare her for when he penetrated her for the first time.

So he stroked her there, caressing her and she gasped.

"Like that…I can see that you do…"

She couldn't even nod because she felt limp against him already as he rubbed her, sliding a finger inside of her marveling at her slickness, and how she clenched on his finger without realizing it.

Snug and tight and oh so hot…

He moved his finger inside of her focusing on an area that swelled beneath his touch.

"Oh…my …god…"

He smiled at her as he kept up the pressure and upped the tempo just slightly.

"You're so wet darling…and so hot…"

She felt like she was getting even hotter, a wave of warmth spread outward from his area of focus.

"What…?"

"Like that….how close are you?"

"Close…?"

"You know what I mean…"

Oh…pretty damn close, she tried to think but her mind swirled, caught up in the eddies of sensation that had enraptured her body. Her breathing came rapid as she leaned against him, her heart pounding, her skin perspiring as if she had worked out in the hot sun.

"So close…."

He increased his tempo and god, she couldn't help it but she threw her head back and cried, trying to suppress it and not succeeding.

"Let it out…there's no one but us here…"

She tried…but she couldn't…all she could do was sigh hard…her hips dying to meet the movement of his finger to push it deeper inside of her…as she rushed up to the top of the summit…nothing holding her back.

And…he kissed her on the mouth then as the pleasure grew beyond what she could stand until she leaned against him, her breath coming harshly.

.

She felt so limp against him, he felt solid against her like someone she could hold onto, yet she felt vulnerable as well. At what she had just showed him, what they had just shared.

"Houston…I…"

The woman who had been known for her way with words in any situation had been left speechless. He stroke several damp tendrils off of her face and kissed her again, tasting her as he pulled her closer to him. That primal feeling that filled him as that hit him aroused him even further…he wanted to carry her to the bedroom, push her against the bed and thrust hard inside her to take possession of her. More than he had ever remembered wanting anything.

But he knew looking at her, a mixture of sated passion on her face, and apprehension because she had felt him hard against her and knew what he wanted from her. After all, this wasn't exactly a road they had gone down before at least not together. He stroked her cheek gently, willing his own body to be patient.

"Come on…we need to move this to the bedroom…"

She nodded, knowing that too and so she let him put his arm around her and they headed to his bedroom.

Masculine in décor, the way she had expected it would be with a king sized bed in the center with portraits of cowboys on the wall, and wild mustangs running through some unknown prairie. She looked at him knowing that no doubt this was a familiar routine with him and trying hard to push that thought away.

But he shook his head.

"It's not like that C.J.…"

That hit her unexpectedly, the hint of vulnerability in his voice for a change and the rush from the first time they'd be together.

"Go sit on the edge of the bed…"

So she did, and it gave slightly beneath her as he sat down beside her.

This was really happening…he was really going to make love to her and on some level everything would change. He brushed some damp tendrils out of her face and started kissing her again, while cupping her chin in his hand. She wrapped her arms around his waist, feeling his body harden against her. She tensed a bit at that, trying not to think. But he cupped her face again and looked at her while they both sat on the edge.

"Hey, it's okay…"

"It'll be more than that if you stand up for a moment cowboy."

She relaxed and wanted to show him that she was okay when he did that, that she was feeling wonderful so she slid her hands to where his briefs sheathed his hardness and she tugged them down, past his muscular thighs. She sucked in her breath as she saw him standing before her, his erection riding against his abdomen. This time when he bent to kiss her again, it brushed against her body and that made her aware of something else, her body wanted him too.

Damn, she wanted him and she wanted him now and she didn't want to think about how much, just to feel his mouth on her own, his hands burning her skin and the delicious sensation of his hardness sliding inside of her to where a part of her waited for him. So she reached out and stroked his erection, wrapping her fingers around its heat. He closed his eyes and groaned when she did that, which made her smile.

"You like that?"

He nodded wordlessly this time and she rubbed him, feeling both the hardness like iron and the softness like satin, and feeling her own body respond to the movement of her hands and the expression on his face. He joined her back on the bed and they sprawled back on the spread.

When he slid her panties down, she just murmured, looking up at him as he studied her. She loved his eyes, soft and warm, chocolate in color and the way he smiled slowly like a sunrise. His dark hair felt soft beneath her fingertips, his skin and its different textures depending where she settled her hands to explore him.

She slid her hands up to his chest, feeling the coarseness of skin and the softness of the whorls of hair, tugging at them gently.

"I want you so much Houston…more than I ever thought…"

Her voice broke and she felt her eyes dampen, then the softness of a finger brush the moisture out of them as she smiled again. He kissed her eyelids, so tenderly it almost made her weep and he pressed her against the bed. He remained beside her while brushing her hair and settling his mouth on hers again. She looked up into his eyes in between, her heart beating quickly as the darkness settled around them.

"You nervous…"

She shook her head, her body feeling on fire but she knew she was where she wanted to be. So while lying on his side, he reached out to embrace her and pull her closer to him while she slid her leg over his own.

"Why don't you take the lead C.J., okay?"

She smiled at him because she had wanted to do that, to set the pace for both of them at least this first time since…she closed her eyes and took a deep breath focusing on the two of them together. He gently slid on top of her, pressing his weight against hers. She closed her own eyes as she felt him slide delightfully inside of her body, stretching her in a pleasurable way that almost made her stop breathing. He placed his hands on her hips as she looked at him for a long moment, relishing in the feel of what it felt like for their bodies to be joined so intimately.

And then slowly…tentatively at first she began to move against him while he held onto her. As she did, she felt more than just the pleasurable buildup to the point her body would be enraptured by pleasure, she felt the elation, the freedom of sharing herself with the man she loved more than anything. His hands gripping her, his body riding hers, each movement more thrilling than the last….her breath rising harshly to match his own.

"Oh god C.J.….do you know how sexy you are…?"

She listened to his words defined by more than the pleasure of them being together and her heart warmed as she felt herself begin to move to the brink. C.J. felt the fullness of the man inside of her, his patience and his restraint at not pushing her further until she had caught up. She marveled in the closeness, the snug perfection of how their bodies molded to one another. She caressed his hairy legs with her feet until she had his hips between them.

"I got to move….you okay…want it nice and slow?"

She just looked at him and licked her lips…focusing on his face while he slowly thrust his hips and filled her again, pulled back and then pushed again, like the ebbing and flowing of the tides in the ocean.

"Ohhhh….."

He heard the sudden pleasure in her voice.

"You feel better?"

She sighed gripping his shoulders as he brushed her skin with his lips as he thrust back in her depths. .

"Oh yeah…do that please…"

And then the pleasure began to build…he reached down to stroke her while keeping the tempo of his thrusting lazy and very sweet. .

His breath quickened and he picked up his tempo, growling as he bucked his hips thrusting into faster, eliciting pleasure not pain now from inside of her. She gripped him harder.

"Oh God…."

"You getting close...do I…"

"No…just keep….god…."

"God….I…."

He smiled at their lack of coherent words as he reached down to kiss her mouth again, tasting her…then sweeping his lips against her jaw line. Then she reached down and pressed her hands against his back bringing him even closer to her as they both experienced their pleasure before his arms collapsed and he fell against her, their bodies slick with sweat and sated.

"I …."

He looked at the expression of wonder on her face.

"I know…oh god…"

Words escaped him too but what had just happened…had blown him away…she had blown him away…and as he held onto her, their bodies intertwined and connected…he felt himself slip under the rushing current with her, filled with emotions so powerful that they threatened to consume him.

And as he lowered his mouth on hers to kiss her again, he didn't care a bit.

C.J. looked up at the man who lay so intimately against her, both of them slowly coming back down again. He stared back down at her, his weight braced on his forearms, one on either side of her with his hands stroking her face, soothing her.

A tear had formed in the corner of one of her eyes and he used a thumb to wipe it away…as he kissed her mouth tenderly…to ease her back to earth together with him.

"Did I hurt you?"

She shook her head silently…still unable to speak. She felt the nearness of him, his scent against her. They stared at each other for a long moment, as their hearts returned to their normal rhythms and the sweat on their bodies dried in the warm air inside his bedroom. She felt like she needed to say something but what? What they just shared couldn't be put into words, the feelings were too deeply embedded, too complex at least for her. He maneuvered himself to where he lay next to her on the bed and reached for a comforter to pull over them. She felt herself wanting to snuggle against the heat of his body, curling her own against him.

"Isn't this the part where the guy falls asleep?"

"I'm wide awake…and this is where the girl needs some cuddling with the guy…"

So he wrapped his arms around her and she settled her head against his bare chest as they both surrendered to their own thoughts, a comfortable silence between them.

She sighed against him…thinking that when they woke up it would be morning, and time for them soon enough to go their separate ways, to say a goodbye that would have to last them both.

"At least we had this night together…I'll never forget it Houston…"

He stroked her arm lightly.

"What if I don't want just one night…?"

She looked at him puzzled.

"But I thought…"

He sighed.

"It's only going to be a couple of years C.J. then we'll be back together again."

She looked over at him, seeing the determination on his face and not knowing what to say to him. Two years was a very long time and she knew that the time apart could change them both in ways neither could anticipate. Better not to make any promises…

Better just to enjoy the here and now…let the future take care of itself.

"I don't know…"

He stroked her face softly, his eyes locked on hers.

"At least let's think about it," he said, "I know that I'm not willing to walk away from what we just shared."

She bit her lip.

"Okay Houston…I'll think about it but I can't promise anything…and neither should you."

He looked as if he wanted to say something else to her but he opted to just nod, and pull her closer to him, kissing her on the mouth as if it were for the last time.

Until the next time…


	4. Looking Ahead

Years later…

She walked up to the newly erected marker on the grave of her childhood friend and marveled at its elegant simplicity. But then while Julia had grown up in a wealthy family, she had always enjoyed what money couldn't buy. She would have made one hell of a lawyer, an advocate for those who couldn't afford to pay one if leukemia hadn't stripped that dream away from her and replaced it with another.

Julia's illness had forced her to drop out of Harvard School of Law after her first year to get treatment but the time medication had bought her had been enough for her to recover enough to push for more research into cancers impacting women. She had created a foundation that had helped fund many research projects and when some unscrupulous investors had tried to tap into it, that's when C.J. and Matt had stepped in to stop them.

They hadn't known that the cancer which had changed the direction of Julia's life had finally taken her life until after the bad guys were rounded up and shipped to jail cells in order to await prosecution on embezzlement and fraud charges. When she had found out that Julia had died, Matt had just wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him.

The funeral had been beautiful, the right combination of both the celebration and memorialization of her life. But now months later, C.J. stood alone by where the coffin had just been lowered into the ground and backfilled before a new patch of grass had covered it like a blanket.

"Julia what am I supposed to do?"

She remembered back when they had sat together in the apartment they shared in Boston commons, when they weren't either in classes or at the law library. Julia had just shaken her head at her.

"You're supposed to talk with him, tell him what you told me."

C.J. had just sighed.

"Not much to say…the test was negative."

So she had discovered after a couple of weeks wondering if the night she'd spent with him eight weeks earlier had left her pregnant.

"You have a lot to say to him."

C.J. ran her hand through her hair as she often did when unable to make a decision.

"Nothing that won't keep…he's somewhere on the other side of the world trying to stay alive."

Julia nodded somberly.

"I know, I did hear from Will," she said, "He's on the frontlines and hasn't heard from Matt lately."

"That's because Houston's somewhere working intelligence. He can't say where."

She had talked to him or emailed him a couple of times since they had gone in their separate directions. She'd been so busy getting ambushed by her studies because law school turned out to be every bit as difficult as she'd been told but she found herself enjoying it. In the midst of all of it of course, she had to take the pregnancy test in between exams in torts and property law.

"You still need to find him and tell him…"

Now years later, C.J. stood beside the grave of one of her closest friends and once again she had a decision to make. Of course she had never told him anything though there had been times she'd been tempted, but the timing had never been right.

Like last week, when Matt had asked her how she felt about his impulsive decision to marry that Irish heiress, Elizabeth, the one he'd fallen in love with about five minutes after meeting her. She'd been one of his clients on a case and somehow she'd captivated him…enough so that when she had left him after the case had been wrapped up, he'd missed her. Of course being a damsel in distress that Matt had to rescue sealed the deal.

After a brief absence, Elizabeth returned soon enough and a few seconds later or so it had seemed, he'd proposed marriage to her and she'd accepted. C.J. and the secretarial pool at Houston Enterprises hadn't seen this one coming quickly enough to start a betting pool before the announcement had already been made.

But when Matt finally asked her about her feelings, she felt put on the spot but finally said that she felt like his marriage might affect their own lifelong and professional relationship. Not the entire truth of course, but she'd already told him she had loved him months ago when they'd been dodging bullets during that whole episode when he'd been framed for murder and forced on the run. It had just spilled out of her when she realized as some unseen killer stalked them that she might not ever have another chance.

He'd just looked at her in stunned silence and said nothing but then again, there was gunfire to dodge though it turned out she hadn't done that well enough. After that whole ordeal ended, they had both slipped back into their working relationship comfortably enough, with his uncle joining them.

When he admitted to her just a couple of days ago that he'd give up his investigative work to please his fiancée, she had just stared at him in disbelief. Then he asked her to help Elizabeth prepare for her wedding day because most of her family would be boycotting the wedding.

She didn't feel like telling him no, that marrying Elizabeth was the craziest plan he'd ever had and that he'd never be happy with a woman who had turned out to be so high maintenance. A woman who wouldn't be happy unless he changed himself to please her.

It had been Chris' idea to throw the bachelorette party. That had surprised her at first because Matt's best administrative assistant had been much quieter than her sister Pam who had also worked for Matt had been but after thinking about it, C.J. had agreed to help her.

They had rented out a small club which served the best honey barbecued chicken wings and six brands of tequila, the perfect combination to create the right atmosphere for Elizabeth and any friends she might have to get down and party before she'd walk down the aisle. Not that Elizabeth had that many friends, she'd grown up isolated from most of the real world even when she'd attended Cambridge University, and she'd enjoyed her own suite. So C.J. and Chris invited the entire secretarial pool to the party and then hit up a few novelty stores on Melrose and Hollywood Blvd for party favors.

Chris and she had been strolling down the aisle checking out the rather naughty cookie molds.

"Never saw one of these while growing up back in Kansas."

C.J. frowned inspecting one of them shaped like…well it was pretty obvious.

"I think they were banned in Texas."

Chris sighed.

"Do you think Elizabeth's going to enjoy the party," she said, "I wonder if it'll just embarrass. She seems a bit…"

"Prissy? Oh no, I don't think so, you can't be like that with a man like Houston."

Chris turned and looked at her suddenly, an eyebrow rose.

"And you'd know that how?"

C.J. felt like she said too much and as Chris looked at her in greater scrutiny, she felt certain. She was sure that Chris and the other secretaries speculated about what kind of relationship she and Matt shared, especially during all those times he'd battle his way past a wall of employees and meet up with C.J. after closing the French Doors behind him. Not that anything had been going on; they held meetings there and researched cases on their super computer systems.

Still she could understand why people might wonder about the two of them. But she just folded her arms at Chris.

"I'm not saying…I don't kiss and tell."

Well, that only raised the ante on the speculation that had only increased after Matt had proposed to Elizabeth. She'd already had Melody, Tiffani and Amber walk up to her, pat her on the shoulder and tell her they'd take her out for drinks after the wedding if she needed to get anything off of her chest.

"So what happened with the two of you?"

C.J. continued to look at different sales items in a casual manner.

"Whatever we shared was a long time ago," she said, "in the past before we came to L.A."

Both of Chris' brows shot up this time.

"I knew it…was he hot?"

C.J. paused as the memories begin to fill her head.

"Yeah…but that was years ago. Now he's about to get married to some woman he just rescued a few months ago."

Chris nodded.

"Yeah he does have that damsel in distress thing going," she said, "I don't get why he picked her. She's not that pretty and do you notice how she criticizes everything he does?"

C.J. more than noticed it. In fact, more than once she'd wanted to smack Elizabeth when she made one of her sharply honed criticisms of Matt and his career as an investigator. Instead she would just smile at her and change the subject, keeping her feelings to herself.

Still because Matt had always been her best friend, she had agreed to help Chris with the bachelorette party.

Only what happened at the party had shocked even her. Elizabeth had hit the tequila pretty quickly and it had hit her back pretty hard. She had started dancing after the second shot glass and even the hired male stripper hadn't been able to keep up with her.

"Just look at her up there," Chris said, "and where is she putting her hands?"

C.J. just watched as Elizabeth got up on the table, which shifted beneath her weight and the dancer just looked at her as she began to gyrate to the music.

"I've never seen this side of her before," she said, "but then I don't know her well."

Chris sighed.

"Should we rein her in a little bit?"

C.J. just watched Elizabeth and saw that she was having a good time at her own party and shook her head.

"No…let her have her fun," she said, "She hasn't broken any laws yet."

The other employees watched the events while dining on the chicken wings and chips dipped in ranch dressing. C.J. just sat down at one of the tables, her mind elsewhere.

Matt rode in the car with his cousin, Will to meet Roy at the Bistro for dinner. They had just closed two more investigative cases out just in time for the wedding which would take place in a couple of days. He had finished making most of the arrangements with C.J.'s help, which left him grateful to her given that he knew she wasn't thrilled about his decision to marry Elizabeth.

She hadn't told him that of course but he had known her most of his life so he could read the small signs she'd been giving off that she felt the wedding was a mistake.

"So you are going to have a bachelor party?"

Matt looked over at Will as they turned onto Sunset Blvd to head back to PCH.

"I don't think so," he said, "Just got to get this paperwork finished up before we head off to Tahiti."

Will leaned back in his seat.

"Oh come on…you're going to hitch up with a woman you just met and you're not even going to party it up before the wedding?"

Matt turned into the restaurant's parking lot.

"No…I think I'm done with that part of my life," he said, "I'm ready to settle down."

Will looked like he didn't believe him but Matt felt that he finally felt ready to take this major step in his life.

"I'm serious too…it's time to start thinking about having a family of my own."

The two men got out of the car after Matt parked it to head inside the restaurant to order some of the best pizza in L.A. well, at least since Mama's closed several years earlier. After settling into a booth, they ordered a pitcher of beer and started in on the garlic bread.

"Nothing wrong with getting serious about one woman and settling down…"

Matt raised his brows.

"What about you, do you ever think about doing that?"

Will paused for a long moment and Matt knew he had his answer. During the dozen or so years he'd spent held prisoner by a warlord, he probably had woven a lot of dreams to pass time where it wasn't recorded and to hold onto his sanity. But so far, life back home had been rocky for his cousin even without his own demons having driven him to the edge, about to jump off a skyscraper and end his life.

Fortunately, that hadn't happened and Will had sought intensive therapy for his post-traumatic stress disorder and he'd began slowly to rebuild his life carving out something new from what had been taken from him forever. His therapy had helped him address the demons of his past experiences and to focus on his future.

This right now involved serving as his cousin's best man at his wedding. Only Will hadn't seemed any more excited than C.J. had been when he got the news of the engagement.

Will fingered his beer glass looking at Matt.

"Are you sure this is what you wanted cuz?"

Matt leaned forward to look directly at the man in front of him.

"Yeah I'm sure…as sure as I've ever been about a woman," he said, "and in a couple of days we're getting married."

Will nodded as he accepted that bit of information and that Matt indeed knew what he was doing.

At least that's what he told himself.

C.J. looked up at Elizabeth who had spent the past hour or so dancing it up with the hired stripper. But finally a couple shots too many had sent her sinking to the table, which toppled beneath her weight but didn't fall.

"I'm not feeling so good."

C.J. arched her brow at the bride to be.

"I'm not surprised, how many shots did you down anyway?"

Elizabeth's brow furrowed as if she were trying to count them all but her mind felt too fuzzy to get very far. C.J. knew that she'd drunk at least three, maybe four shots rimmed with salt and that's before she had started dancing.

"I'm getting married in a couple of days…"

It came out as a whisper but C.J. still heard it as she watched Chris and the other secretaries remove the fake leis they wore as party favors and start cleaning up the glasses and discarded plates.

"I know Elizabeth. This is the fourth time you've told me in the past hour."

The Irish heiress looked at her and just sighed, rubbing her forehead with one of her hands. It definitely looked like she would have one hell of a hangover in the morning…oh wait it was morning so she was already on her way there.

"I'm…sorry it's just that I'm so excited…"

She didn't look thrilled, she looked as if she were about to hurl so C.J. went to soak a cloth to hand it back to her.

"Thanks," Elizabeth said, "I don't know what came over me. I usually don't…drink…well not this much."

C.J. looked over at Chris who joined them and just shrugged her shoulders.

"It's just a party and you kicked loose a little…well in your case a lot."

Chris smiled.

"The dancer seemed to enjoy what was going on and the generous tip you gave him."

Elizabeth's face flushed and she ran the damp cloth across it.

"It didn't mean anything. I was just having some fun…you know before the wedding."

C.J. looked at Chris again and then back at Elizabeth.

"You're not nervous about it are you?"

Elizabeth snorted.

"Of course not…I'm in love with Matt and he loves me and when we get married, we're going to have a beautiful life together."

"I'm sure you will…and I do know he cares about you."

Elizabeth frowned.

"He doesn't just care; he loves me…more than he's ever loved anyone."

C.J. and Chris didn't know how to respond to that. After all, it wasn't like it had been the first time Matt had gotten engaged. His earlier fiancées had just met tragic ends much earlier in the engagement. Elizabeth had escaped that fate with the wedding only several days away.

So C.J. just patted her on the shoulder again.

"I'm sure he does and that this wedding will be everything you hoped."

That seemed to reassure Elizabeth who smiled back and fingered her empty shot glass. C.J. moved it out of her range.

"You've had enough of that," she said, "We need to get you home."

Elizabeth struggled to get up.

"I can do that…I don't need help."

C.J. sighed.

"You can't drive…here I'll call you a cab.…"

Elizabeth nodded but then grabbed one of C.J.'s arms with her hand.

"Wait…why don't we just talk here for a while?"

C.J. shrugged and poured herself a glass of tequila while Chris looked over at Elizabeth.

"Maybe we should get Matt to come get her."

C.J. shook her head.

"No a cab is better…besides he's out having fun with Will doing only they know what."

Chris smiled.

"It's good that the two of them get to spend time together," she said, "Catch up on what they lost."

C.J. agreed, the months that Matt and Will had spent rebuilding their relationship, there had been pitfalls along the way but the two cousins had grown so close again, even more so than before Will had gone missing.

Elizabeth tilted her face.

"So if I can't drink, can I at least tell you about what I want for my wedding?"

Chris poured herself another glass.

"It's all been done and taken care of already," she said, "Nothing for you to worry about."

Elizabeth sighed.

"Who's worried? I'm marrying the most wonderful man in the world and our life together will be so perfect."

"Houston's a great guy Elizabeth," C.J. said, "I know you'll take care of each other."

Elizabeth then narrowed her eyes over at her.

"And how would you know," she said, "You and he…you've just been friends right?"

C.J. paused not wanting to go down this road with Elizabeth. Not anymore than she'd liked going down it with any of Matt's serious girlfriends.

"Yes…we've just been close friends."

Elizabeth leaned forward to study her more closely.

"And you never slept with him right?"

C.J. hesitated and before she could answer…the other woman just sighed.

"So you have….when was this?"

C.J. bit her lip.

"It's none of your business Elizabeth."

The bride to be crossed her arms, obviously not happy with the revelation.

"I'll be the judge of that…so was it recent?"

C.J. rubbed her forehead with her fingers, easing the tension that had developed. She chose her words carefully.

"No…no it wasn't and it was in the past," she said, "He's with you now where he wants to be."

Elizabeth seemed somewhat placated by that but still looked perturbed.

"I can't believe you did that…how am I supposed to believe it's over between the two of you?"

C.J. looked directly at her.

"It is…not that there was ever anything."

Elizabeth didn't look like she really believed that. But C.J. didn't feel as if there were anything to explain. What she and Matt had shared together was their own business after all. But then Elizabeth just shrugged at her.

"It doesn't matter now does it," she said, "If Matt had any interest in you, he would have shown it a long time ago."

"Okay whatever…listen I'm heading out pretty soon with Chris," C.J. said, "Do you need us to call you a cab?"

Elizabeth pushed her shoulders back.

"I can handle that myself," she said, "Besides I'm not really drunk."

C.J. looked over at Chris and then took a deep breath.

"Yes you are Elizabeth and you don't want to worry Houston about anything happening to you right?"

Elizabeth appeared to think about it.

"Well yes but I can take care of myself," she said, "so I'll call my own cab."

C.J. nodded.

"Okay then, see you later…at the rehearsal."

Elizabeth frowned.

"There's not much to rehearse…not many people in the wedding party."

True, C.J. thought. Matt had opted to have Will be his best man while she'd been drafted to be the maid of honor for Elizabeth. She'd done it solely for Matt, because he'd been her best friend but she knew she'd be glad when this wedding was done with…except for the fact…no she couldn't think about that…

After all, Matt had made his choice and the least she could do was accept it.

The next day…

"Is it a viable threat Houston?"

Matt looked up at Hoyt from where he sat at his desk, with Roy pouring all three of them some Scotch after they had spent the past hour discussing the threatening letter Matt had received from some deranged and faceless individual.

The letter had said that Matt and company had put him behind bars and now that he was out, there would be hell to pay.

Matt didn't have any idea which of the hundreds of bad men and women he'd put away these past years had a plan of revenge against him this time. It was easy enough to rule out those who had died until you remembered most of them had relatives.

"I don't know…I have to assume that there might be more than a few people angry enough to come after me on my wedding day right now."

Hoyt sighed.

"But can you narrow it down to a dozen or so?"

Matt shook his head gazing at his shot glass.

"No…maybe Elizabeth's right about wanting me to quit the investigative agency."

Both Roy and Hoyt looked at him sharply just then.

"Quit, would you really do that Houston?"

Hoyt's voice carried more than a trace of incredibility just at the thought but Roy didn't seem nearly as surprised.

"I don't know…it might not be a bad idea. I don't want my wife or any of our kids being targeted for something that I did."

Hoyt rubbed his forehead.

"You helped put a lot of bad characters away even when we didn't always listen."

Matt looked up at Hoyt then knowing it had taken a lot for him to admit that sometimes the police had responded belatedly to concerns raised by Matt about some of the cases they both handled.

"Yeah but what's going to happen if one of my children pays the price for that…or Elizabeth?"

Neither man answered right away and Matt sighed again.

"I've already been through this with C.J. and she asked me if I'd give it all up and I couldn't answer back then but now…"

He stopped talking, his mind still not having to make a decision. Roy took a deep breath and just patted his nephew's shoulder, getting up to refresh his drink.

"It's up to you Matlock, you've got to decide to do what's best for you and your family but think about it, think long and hard about what you'd be giving up."

Matt had been doing that the past few nights that he'd spent restless as his future wife lay asleep beside him.

Hoyt stood up to leave.

"Look, we'll station plenty of officers to make sure nothing happens on your wedding day."

Matt shook his head.

"If Elizabeth knows it'll greatly upset her."

"Then we'll put them where they can't be seen," Hoyt said, "but they'll be right there ready to act if anything happens."

Matt just nodded thinking that his wedding was just getting so complicated, which had put a lot of stress on his fiancée. He just hoped it would go off without a hitch.

With only two days to go, what could possibly happen next?

Three days later…

She walked across the threshold into the patio and saw him standing there alone.  
Still dressed in his wrinkled tuxedo, his tie askew and his dark hair tousled as if he'd been in a brawl.

A silent testament to what had happened at what some media outlets had proclaimed the wedding that never finished. It had begun as he and his bride to be had made their final preparations separately and ended with a crazed mad man speaking up when the minister had invited anyone to come forward if they objected to the marriage.

Of course, the minister had only raised that issue because it had been part of the ceremonial script. No one actually crashed weddings anymore to break up the bride and the groom but in this case that's what happened according to the police reports written afterward.

Matt had wrestled the guy to the ground after he had grabbed his bride and they had fought for a while most of the rest of the wedding party.

Until the other man produced a badge and proved he was a federal agent and he had a warrant for the bride's arrest. As it turned out, Elizabeth had several other names and about a half dozen passports to various countries.

The federal agent had been trying to track down a woman named Lila Bryant.

The hundreds of guests then scattered to the far winds, rushing outside to give breathy interviews to any media outlet hanging around.

C.J. of course had remained behind as his best friend helping him through the chaotic hours that followed. His bride to be had not had anyone else to be the maid of honor so he had volunteered C.J. Then Elizabeth…or Lila…or whomever had asked if his best friend could be trusted.

That should have afforded him some clue that the match between him and his bride might not last to the bouquet toss even if the feds hadn't crashed it. But afterward when they had both called it quits while the agents were escorting the handcuffed woman wearing white into a sedan. C.J. had been handed an icepack to nurse her own bruises because she hadn't just stood there and watched the fight but had thrown a punch or two to help Matt.

Now she stood still in her torn peach colored dress which she had hated anyway looking out at him. She picked up a bottle of the champagne that never got poured into flutes for a toast, opened it up with a rowdy pop and went to join him on the patio.  
He didn't turn around even though she knew he heard her approach

"Hey, is this only a party for one?"

She heard him sigh.

"No…I'm just spending a few moments before returning to the office to get some work done."

"Houston, you don't have to work today."

He already had a drink in his hand, which looked a lot like Scotch.

"Nothing else to do…I guess we're lucky they're not locking us up to for assaulting an agent."

She put the champagne down on a bench and sat down beside it, looking at him.

"He didn't ID himself before you hit him…"

"I didn't give him much chance."

She took the lid off of the champagne and poured herself a glass, then gestured for him to sit down with her. He looked indecisive for a moment, and then did just that. Close enough so that their shoulders brushed together, as they both sipped their drinks.

"Anyway…I'm sorry about what happened," she said, "but didn't she give off any clues that she was into money laundering?"

He shook his head, sipping his scotch.

"She was gone a lot on business trips," he said, "but then so am I."

C.J. knew that because she had gone with him on many of them, staking out her spot on the comfy Lear Jet with piles of paperwork but Wolfgang Puck pizza they had warming in the galley.

"Well it doesn't matter," she reasoned, "It's all on her for breaking the law and for stringing you along."

He looked down at his glass and she thought how incredibly well packaged he was for a man. Ruggedly handsome from his years spent in construction, his hands lined with scars but strong like the rest of him. He filled out suits with his muscular frame and having seen him swimming laps in his Speedo, she knew he had nothing to worry about in that department.

But more than that, Matt was the best buddy a person could ever know. The two of them had been through so much together building their engineering firm and seeing each other through personal tragedies and relationship breakups through hours spent over wine at their favorite eateries or out on his boat sailing across an endless ocean.

He'd make it through this broken wedding day as well because she'd be right there beside him as he had always been for her.

Still looking at him right now, she found herself idling wondering as she often did what it'd be like to be more than his friend…remembering back to that night by the lake years ago.

When she'd discovered what it'd be like to be his lover too.

Because she did love him, she knew that but like now, when she saw how gorgeous he looked even after his wedding day crashed and burned, she felt herself wanting to comfort him in a new way. Her fingers itched to touch him, would his muscles twitch beneath them, would his skin feel hot?

Like it had that one night?

No, she couldn't think like that and he needed a friend right now. He turned around to look at her.

"Thanks…"

She shrugged.

"Look no problem, I'll be inside if you want to talk about it some more but I swear if you try to go to the office, I'm going to show you some more of my tackling skills."

His mouth curved into a smile despite the circumstances.

"I might take you up on that."

She just shook her head and chuckled at him, before leaving him to head inside the suite. They'd been staying at a resort with the other members of the wedding party and some of the guests.

Inside, she went to take some leftover pizza out of the frig to heat it up in the microwave in the kitchenette. She then grabbed a plate and slid the slices onto it and took it over to the living area to eat.

God, she hated it that the man she loved had his heart broken but she knew he'd work his way through it. She'd help him until he got back on his feet and started hitting the social scene again. And when that happened, another little bit of her own heart would break again.

But what were friends for anyway but to support each other in life, even if it meant putting aside some of their own feelings? Still she wondered what it'd be like if he ever looked at her…that way that made her heart sizzle until she realized it was at someone else. One day, she told herself she'd mix it up and maybe then, he'd realize that he'd been looking in the wrong places.

"Hey…"

She looked up suddenly and there he was, standing there, with his empty glass in hand.

"Hey you, you feeling better now?"

He nodded and sat down beside her.

"I never really loved her," he said, "I stood out there and it hit me only after everything that happened.

She tilted her face.

"Better that you know I guess," She said, "than wind up married to someone you don't love and a felon to boot."

He smiled at her then and then reached out to stroke her face, the way he often did which just left her wanting.

"Thanks C.J.."

"For what, I'm your friend Houston and I always will be no matter what."

After all, that's the way it had always been between them since they were kids. She reached over and handed him a slice of pizza which he accepted.

They ate quietly, together as the light in the suite began to dim with the setting of the sun.

After a while, they walked into the kitchenette where they rinsed the glasses and plate in the tiny sink. They didn't have any plans for leaving the resort but decided to leave it open.

She had just finished the drying when she felt his hands on her shoulders, massaging them, which she loved. He had a gift for cajoling the tension out of her by his touch so she leaned against him without thinking, as her muscles began to relax.

"You have any plans for tonight?"

She thought about it.

"Not really, maybe watch a movie what about you?

Then suddenly he turned her around to face him, putting his arms around her waist and pulling her closer.

"Houston…?"

He brushed his mouth against hers before she could finish, and her words evaporated, as he deepened his kiss, exploring her lips sending all kinds of delicious sensations through her body, far away from her mouth. His kiss came from somewhere deep inside of him, as if had been waiting, the realization hit her like a rush.

When he released her, her mouth still tasting him, he stroked her mouth with a finger and she felt her breath hitch.

"What was that?"

He arched a brow, a smile hinting on the mouth that had just pleasured her.

"A kiss…"

She just tilted her head looking at him reproachfully, while still in his embrace.

"I know that but why?"

He sighed, stroking her back with his hands, sliding the silky fabric of her dress against her skin. She closed her eyes, because she wanted those hands on her bare skin but…

Then he kissed her again, more powerfully this time and she felt the nudge of his tongue against her lips until they parted allowing him to slide right in. She nearly jumped as he stroked the inside of her mouth, and she felt heat building and wetness too between her thighs.  
She should really tell him not to do this, that he was just reacting to his busted wedding but somehow she just kissed him back instead. God, it felt so intense more than she ever dreamed, more than should be allowed.

His hands slid down the back of her dress and began nudging it up her thighs, which made her break away and look at him. Her heart pounding in her ears as he slid her dress all the way up. He then pressed his body against her lacy panties and damn, she felt him there.

He felt damn hard.

But he just looked at her, his hands still clenching her dress and kissed her again. This time, she pressed against him, anything to get closer to what she wanted. It felt so nice and yet…

It also felt too damn naughty.

"I think we should take this to the other room," he said softly.

She swallowed, knowing what room he meant, the bedroom.

"What about…?"

But then he swept her off of her feet and carried her there anyway.

The bedroom was simply furnished consisting mainly of a bed, and dimly lit as he set her down on the floor and started unzipping her dress, until it fell on the floor. She stood there with her peach covered pushup bra and panties, looking at him and then nodding.  
She asked the unimaginable question to him.

"Do you have anything?"

"No I…"

"Relax Matt; every hotel suite probably has samples…check the drawer."

She watched him fumble a bit through the drawer, quickly until he returned, carrying a foil package in his fingers. She looked at it and then it hit her, what they were about to do.

An act that would change everything….but she was ready for that, she thought unsnapping her bra, allowing her creamy breasts to spill out, the rosy tips already hardened even before he began touching them.

That felt amazing and that it was his hands but she felt impatient, wanting everything and no wait to get it

"I need you…"

She leaned back into the bed, wearing just the panties and feeling the mattress against her. He looked at her a moment as he too casually thought started to unbutton his own rumpled shirt after tossing the tie aside.

His pants followed, much more quickly, and his briefs too, and she admired the body she had always wanted to touch since the time that she did. She wanted to taste every inch that she touched but that would have to wait until later.

He followed her on the bed, after she opened her thighs to hold him against her, and she felt his fingers graze her damp panties before he pulled them down.

She pulled him closer, kissing his mouth and felt him press against her, already slick and taking care to be gentle. Not that she needed that, and she sucked her breath in as he thrust his engorged penis inside of her pussy, which hugged it. She felt the sting of his penetration but his kisses heated her up as she opened up to him. He slid some fingers down where they had joined and started fondling her sweetest spot.

Sliding her hands down his side, putting them on his hips she whispered words against his skin…and he responded.

She whispered softly to him to let himself go and she'd follow.

Her hands clutched at him as he pumped into her, filling her up sublimely before a slow retreat and then…the delicious friction pushed her further, faster.

Until, she felt the tightness inside of her stretch, and stretch until finally it broke sending shards of pleasure through her body.

She cried out and a moment later, he sank against her, his body as wet as hers. They remained intertwined as they returned to earth.

Silence lingered comfortably between them.

"Wow," was all she said.

"Yeah…definitely," he responded, kissing her again, delicately and devoted.

She sighed, as she separated herself to look at him.

"I don't know what got into me."

"I did, and in oh, about a half hour, I'm going to do it again."

"Why…?"

"Because I've wanted this for so long."

Every response she had left her head, there wasn't much to say after all except the obvious now that the walls had been stripped between them, leaving them bare. So she kept it simple.

"Me too…"

"Only next time, we'll hit more of the highlights okay?"

She nodded and he drew her closer to him again, and she'd think about what they'd done later, but for now she chose to enjoy the moment that two friends had crossed over the line to become lovers.


End file.
